A condom is a barrier device commonly used
during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy and spreading
sexually transmitted diseases. It is put on a man's erect penis and physically
blocks ejaculated semen from entering the body of a sexual partner. Condoms are
also used for collection of semen for use in infertility treatment. Because condoms
are waterproof, elastic, and durable, they are also used for non-sexual
purposes such as creating waterproof microphones and protecting rifle barrels
from clogging. In the modern age, condoms are most often made from latex, but
some are made from other materials such as polyurethane, polyisoprene, or lamb
intestine.

A female condom is a polyurethane sheath
with a flexible ring at either end. One end is closed and inserted into the
vagina; the other end is open and the ring sits outside the opening of the
vagina. The male condom, sometimes called a "rubber" or "prophylactic,"
is far more commonly used.

So, Condoms are:

Worn on the penis

Made of latex or plastic

Prevent pregnancy and sexually
transmitted infection

Can be used with another form of
birth control for extra protection

Can be used for vaginal, anal, or
oral sex

Safe, effective, and easy to get

Cost about $1 each, but are sometimes
available for free

Safe sex

Condoms protect both you and your partner
from sexually transmitted infections. Condoms that are made of latex offer very
good protection against HIV. Latex condoms also reduce the risk of other
sexually transmitted infections, including:

Chlamydia

Chancroid - Chancroid is a type of
bacteria that is transmitted through sexual contact. It causes sores on the genitals.

Gonorrhea

Hepatitis B

Herpes

HPV - Human Papilloma Virus

Pelvic Inflammatory Disease - (PID)

Syphilis

Trichomoniasis - Trichomoniasis is an infection caused by a
protozoan, a microscopic, one-cell animal called a trichomona.
Trichomoniasis is often called "trich."

Condoms can also prevent urinary tract
infections in men who wear them.

Condoms and Oral Sex

Sexually transmitted infections can be
passed from one person to another during oral sex. The risk of passing
infections is lower during oral sex than during vaginal or anal intercourse.
People who want to further reduce their risk can use condoms during oral sex.

World AIDS Day is
held on 1 December each year and is an opportunity for people worldwide to
unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV
and to commemorate people who have died. World AIDS Day was the first ever
global health day and the first one was held in 1988.

HIV facts

HIV stands
for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. It is a virus which attacks the body's
immune system — the body's defence against diseases. The virus
can lead to Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, or AIDS.

There are
two types of HIV, HIV-1 and HIV-2.

Both types
of HIV damage a person’s body by destroying specific blood cells, called CD4+ T
cells, which are crucial to helping the body fight diseases.

HIV can be passed on through infected
bodily fluids, most commonly via sex without a condom or by sharing infected
needles, syringes or other injecting drug equipment.

HIV cannot
reproduce outside the human body. It is not spread by:

Air or water.

Insects, including mosquitoes.
Studies conducted by CDC researchers and others have shown no evidence of
HIV transmission from insects.

Saliva, tears, or sweat. There is no documented case of HIV being
transmitted by spitting.

Casual contact like shaking
hands or sharing dishes.

Closed-mouth or “social” kissing.

In 2011, an estimated:

34 million [31.4 million - 35.9 million] people globally were living with HIV

2.5 million [2.2 million - 2.8 million] people became newly infected with HIV

1.7 million [1.5 million - 1.9 million] people died from AIDS-related illnesses

Choosing the theme

From its inception until 2004, UNAIDS
spearheaded the World AIDS Day campaign, choosing annual themes in consultation
with other global health organizations.

As of 2008, each year's World AIDS Day
theme is chosen by the World AIDS Campaign's Global Steering Committee after
extensive consultation with people, organizations and government agencies
involved in the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS. For each World AIDS Day
from 2005 through 2010, the theme was "Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise"
with a yearly sub-theme. This overarching theme was designed to encourage
political leaders to keep their commitment to achieve universal access to
HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care, and support by the year 2010.

Since last year
“Getting to Zero” is the theme selected by the World AIDS Campaign (WAC) to
commemorate World AIDS Day on 1st December. This new theme, that will be used
until 2015, echoes the UNAIDS vision of achieving

“Zero new HIV
infections. Zero discrimination. Zero AIDS-related deaths.” The decision to
choose "Getting to Zero" as the theme came after extensive
consultations among people living with HIV, health activists and civil society
organizations.

A new World AIDS
Day report: Results, by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS
(UNAIDS), shows that unprecedented acceleration in the AIDS response is
producing results for people.

Declining new HIV
infections in children

The area where
perhaps most progress is being made is in reducing new HIV infections in
children. Half of the global reductions in new HIV infections in the last two
years have been among newborn children.

Fewer
AIDS-related deaths

The report shows
that antiretroviral therapy has emerged as a powerful force for saving lives.
In the last 24 months the number of people accessing treatment has increased by
63% globally.

More investments

The report shows
that countries are increasing investments in the AIDS response despite a
difficult economic climate. The global gap in resources needed annually by 2015
is now at 30%. In 2011, US$ 16.8 billion was available and the need for 2015 is
between US$ 22-24 billion.

Having attended
art college, Mercury designed the Queen's logo, called the Queen crest, shortly
before the release of the band's first album. The logo combines the zodiac
signs of all four members: two lions for Leo (John Deacon and Roger Taylor), a
crab for Cancer (Brian May), and two fairies for Virgo (Mercury). The lions
embrace a stylised letter Q, the crab rests atop the letter with flames rising
directly above it, and the fairies are each sheltering below a lion. There is
also a crown inside the Q and the whole logo is over-shadowed by an enormous
phoenix. The whole symbol bears a passing resemblance to the Royal coat of arms
of the United Kingdom, particularly with the lion supporters. The original
logo, as found on the reverse-side of the first album cover, was a simple line
drawing but more intricate colour versions were used on later sleeves.

Brian May:
"That QUEEN logo, and the crest, were both entirely Freddie's design. He
had been a student at Ealing Tech, of course...and those designs stayed with
us, through various modifications, for many years. Freddie had a great eye for
design." Like the fairies and the Phoenix, Queen had a flair for summoning
up the great Britain of yore - a place of romance and hard-scrabble mystique
that lives on within the folk tradition. It's a tradition that was revitalized
by Queen through an eclectically electric vein of sonic sorcery that no one
seemed to notice at the time. Magic has a tendency to hide itself.

Freddie’s vocals
were over a four-octave range

Although
Mercury's speaking voice naturally fell in the baritone range, he delivered most
songs in the tenor range. His vocal range extended from bass low F (F2) to soprano
high F (F6). He could belt up to tenor high F (F5). Biographer David Bret
described his voice as "escalating within a few bars from a deep, throaty
rock-growl to tender, vibrant tenor, then on to a high-pitched, perfect
coloratura, pure and crystalline in the upper reaches". Spanish soprano
Montserrat Caballé, with whom Mercury recorded an album, expressed her opinion
that "the difference between Freddie and almost all the other rock stars
was that he was selling the voice". She adds, "His technique was
astonishing. No problem of tempo, he sung with an incisive sense of rhythm, his
vocal placement was very good and he was able to glide effortlessly from a
register to another. He also had a great musicality. His phrasing was subtle,
delicate and sweet or energetic and slamming. He was able to find the right
colouring or expressive nuance for each word." As Queen's career
progressed, he would increasingly alter the highest notes of their songs when
live, often harmonising with seconds, thirds or fifths instead. Mercury was
said to have "the rawest vocal fold nodules" and claimed never to
have had any formal vocal training.

Vocal ranges are used to determine voice
types. For women, the main three types are soprano, mezzo-soprano, and
contralto. For men, there are four types: countertenor, tenor, baritone, and bass.
Since letters and numbers are used for classifying vocal ranges according to
voice type, I should list those notations and what they represent before
bragging about some of rock’s diverse vocals.
For men: it is C3- C5 for tenor, F2- F4 for baritone and for bass, it is E2-
E4. For Women: it is C4- C6 for Soprano, A3 – A5 for Mezzo-soprano and F3 – F5
for Contralto.

Bottomless
microphone stand

The iconic
trademark Freddie Mercury the bottomless mic stand traces back to the days when
he did his last performance with Wreckage (formerly Ibex). On 12th December
1969 Freddie played at Widnes Wade Deacon Grammar School. Freddie Mercury was
swinging the microphone stand around then Freddie lifted his microphone and the
top bit broke away from the main stand and he carried on the show with his
shortened mic stand.

The bottomless
microphone stand; it is essentially a microphone stand without a base to
support itself unaided, meaning it must be held by a singer throughout a live
performance. It is useful as a mobile prop.

So Freddie
Mercury discovered the device by accident. For the rest of his career he used a
bottomless microphone stand regularly. Robbie Williams also uses bottomless
microphone stands.

Lady GaGa took
her name from the Queen song “Radio GaGa

”

Lady GaGa: "My
producr, Rob Fusari, was the first to really bring out both my theatrical and
pop elements. I was in theatre for many years, but I was also a pop vocalist.
When I auditioned for pop, record labels would say you're too theatre. And when
I auditioned for theatre they'd say you're too pop. When I met Rob, I
discovered David Bowie and Queen, and the more theatrical Beatles records. One
day, I played Rob a song called Again Again, and he said, "God that's so
Queen! You're so Radio GaGa. Very theatrical". And he stated to call me
GaGa when I'd come into the studio. When we were getting ready to really start
performing, I decided that I'd been playing under my real name for so long I
wanted a new way to reinvent myself. So I said, what about Lady GaGa, because
Gaga is sort of crazy and Lady has such connotations. I went to a private
school but now I was living in this trash glitter environment. So, for me, it
was the perfect description of who I had become."

The working title
for Queen’s smash hit “Radio GaGa” was “Radio CaCa”.

Recorded in 1983
and released in January 1984, the song was a commentary on television
overtaking radio's popularity and how one would listen to radio for a favorite
comedy, drama, or science fiction programme. It also pertained to the advent of
the music video and MTV. Ironically, the video for "Radio Ga Ga"
would become a regular staple on MTV in 1984, and was nominated for an MTV
Video Music Award that year. Taylor originally conceived of it as "Radio
caca" (from something his toddler son once said), which doubled as a
criticism of radio for the decrease in variety of programming and the type of
music being played. "Radio Ga Ga" in one of the original cassette
boxes is called 'radio ca ca'.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Today he would be
66 years but next Saturday, November 24, it is 21 years ago that he died at the age of 45.

Freddie's dead

According to his
partner Jim Hutton, Mercury was diagnosed with AIDS shortly after Easter of
1987. Around that time, Mercury claimed in an interview to have tested negative
for HIV. Despite the denials, the British press pursued the rampant rumours
over the next few years, fuelled by Mercury's increasingly gaunt appearance,
Queen's absence from touring, and reports from former lovers to various tabloid
journals – by 1990 the rumours about Mercury's health were rife. At the 1990
Brit Awards held at the Dominion Theatre, London on 18 February, Mercury made
his final public appearance on stage when he joined the rest of Queen to
collect the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. Towards the end
of his life, he was routinely stalked by photographers, while the daily tabloid
newspaper The Sun featured a series of articles claiming that he was seriously
ill; notably in an article from November 1990 which featured an image of a
haggard looking Mercury on the front page accompanied by the headline
"It's official – Freddie is seriously ill".

However, Mercury
and his inner circle of colleagues and friends, whom he felt he could trust,
continually denied the stories, even after one front page article published on
29 April 1991, which showed Mercury appearing very haggard in what was by then
a rare public appearance. Brian May confirmed in a 1993 interview that Mercury
had informed the band of his illness much earlier. Filmed in May 1991, the music video for
"These Are the Days of Our Lives" features a painfully thin Mercury,
which are his final scenes in front of the camera.

These Are the
Days of Our Lives was written largely by their drummer Roger Taylor, and is the
eighth track on the band's 1991 album Innuendo. Keyboards were programmed by
the four band members in the studio, and conga percussion (a synthesised conga)
was recorded by their producer David Richards (although it was mimed in the
video by Roger Taylor).

It was issued as
a single in the United States on Freddie Mercury's 45th birthday, 5 September
1991, and as double A-side single in the UK three months later on 9 December,
in the wake of Mercury's death, with the seminal Queen track "Bohemian
Rhapsody". The single debuted at #1 on the UK Singles Chart, and remained
at the top for five weeks. The song was awarded a BRIT Award for "Best
Single" in 1992.

"These Are
the Days of Our Lives" hearkens back to similarly themed 1975 Queen song
"Love of My Life", twice using the line "I still love you".
At the end of the song, Mercury simply speaks those words, as he would often do
in live versions of "Love of My Life."

Music video

The accompanying
video was the last to feature front man Freddie Mercury as he was in the final
stages of his battle with AIDS. The majority of the footage used in the video
was filmed by Rudi Dolezal and Hannes Rossacher of DoRo Productions on 30 May
1991.

For the
promotional video, Mercury, Taylor and John Deacon were present at the shoot,
with additional footage of guitarist Brian May filmed some weeks later and
edited into the footage, as he was out of the country on a radio promotional
tour at the time of the principal film shoot. The video was shot in black and
white to hide the full extent of Mercury's faltering condition from AIDS,
following rumours about his health had been at the centre of much media and
public speculation for over a year, following on from its use in the video for
"I'm Going Slightly Mad" earlier in 1991.

Colour footage of
the band filming the video later emerged, showing just how frail Mercury really
looked, and justifying the band's decision to film in black and white out of respect
for him. In this music video, Mercury is wearing a waistcoat with pictures of
cats that was made for him by a close friend, and which he loved. With his
knowing farewell look straight at the camera, Mercury whispers "I still
love you" as the song ends, which are his last words on camera.

After the
conclusion of his work with Queen in June 1991, Mercury retired to his home in
Kensington. His former partner, Mary Austin, had been a particular comfort in
his final years, and in the last few weeks of his life made regular visits to
his home to look after him. Near the end of his life, Mercury was starting to
lose his sight, and his deterioration was so overpowering he could not get out
of bed. Due to his worsening condition, Mercury decided to hasten his death by
refusing to take his medication, and just continued taking pain killers.

On 22 November
1991, Mercury called Queen's manager Jim Beach over to his Kensington home, to
discuss a public statement. The next day, 23 November, the following
announcement was made to the international press on behalf of Mercury:

“Following the
enormous conjecture in the press over the last two weeks, I wish to confirm
that I have been tested HIV positive and have AIDS. I felt it correct to keep
this information private to date to protect the privacy of those around me.
However, the time has come now for my friends and fans around the world to know
the truth and I hope that everyone will join with me, my doctors, and all those
worldwide in the fight against this terrible disease. My privacy has always
been very special to me and I am famous for my lack of interviews. Please
understand this policy will continue.”

A little over 24
hours after issuing that statement, Mercury died on the evening of 24 November
1991 at the age of 45, at his home in Kensington. The official cause of death
was bronchial pneumonia resulting from AIDS. The news of his death had reached
newspaper and television crews by the early hours of 25 November.

On 27 November
1991 was Mercury's funeral. Mercury was cremated at Kensal Green Cemetery, West
London, with the whereabouts of his ashes believed to be known only to Mary
Austin.

In his will,
Mercury left the vast majority of his wealth, including his home and recording
royalties, to Mary Austin, and the remainder to his parents and sister. He
further left £500,000 to his chef Joe Fanelli, £500,000 to his personal
assistant Peter Freestone, £100,000 to his driver Terry Giddings, and £500,000
to Jim Hutton. Mary Austin continues to live at Mercury's home, Garden Lodge,
Kensington, with her family. Hutton was involved in a 2000 biography of
Mercury, Freddie Mercury, the Untold Story, and also gave an interview for The
Times for what would have been Mercury's 60th birthday.

Not much is known
about Jim Hutton; he was a very private, kind and gentle man, who was not
accustom to Freddie’s fame, and was as uncomfortable with the attention Queen
was getting as Freddie was. Also contrary to popular belief, Freddie Mercury
was a shy, quiet and guarded person who rarely gave interviews because he was
awkward with discussing his personal and even professional life with people he
did not know or trust. Same went for Jim Hutton.

Jim and Freddie
met at a bar in 1984. Freddie offered to buy him a drink, and Jim obliged. He
didn’t recognize Freddie until his friend said, “Hey, Freddie Mercury is behind
you.” Jim drank his drink and the two talked for a while, but nothing happened
for another year. About eighteen months later, the two met up again at the same
bar, and the same situation went down - Freddie bought Jim a drink, but this
time, they got together and Jim ended up moving in the Garden Lodge with
Freddie about two years later.

When Freddie was
diagnosed with AIDS in 1987, he offered Jim an exit on their relationship. He
told Jim he would understand if he left. In a Freddie Mercury documentary, Jim
recalls telling him, “I love you, Freddie - I’m not going anywhere.” And he
didn’t; Jim stayed with Freddie until he died. He nursed him, cared for him,
and was there when he took his last breath.

Jim Hutton died
on 1 January 2010 from cancer, or as Brian May, Queen’s
guitarist, wrote on his homepage that Jim died from a smoking-related illness.

Jim Hutton was
sixty years old. He passed away in his home in Ireland.

Monday, November 19, 2012

His was
born "Faroukh Bulsara" on 5 September 1946 in Zanzibar, and he died "Freddie Mercury",
in London. On November
24, 1991,
the announcement came: "Freddie Mercury died peacefully this evening at
his home at 1 Logan Place, Kensington, London.

His death
was the result of bronchopneumonia brought on by AIDS."

Freddie Mercury was
a British musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and
lyricist of the rock band Queen. As a performer, he was known for his
flamboyant stage persona and powerful vocals over a four-octave range. As a
songwriter, Mercury composed many hits for Queen, including "Bohemian
Rhapsody", "Killer Queen", "Somebody to Love",
"Don't Stop Me Now", "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and
"We Are the Champions". In addition to his work with Queen, he led a
solo career, and also occasionally served as a producer and guest musician
(piano or vocals) for other artists.

Relationships

In the early
1970s Mercury had a long-term relationship with Mary Austin, whom he had met
through guitarist Brian May. He lived with Austin for several years in West
Kensington. By the mid-1970s, however, the singer had begun an affair with a
male American record executive at Elektra Records, which ultimately resulted in
the end of his relationship with Austin. Mercury and Austin nevertheless remained close
friends through the years, with Mercury often referring to her as his only true
friend. In a 1985 interview, Mercury said of Austin, "All my lovers asked
me why they couldn't replace Mary [Austin], but it's simply impossible. The
only friend I've got is Mary and I don't want anybody else. To me, she was my
common-law wife. To me, it was a marriage. We believe in each other, that's
enough for me." He also wrote several songs about Austin, the most notable
of which is "Love of My Life".

"Love of My
Life" is a ballad by the English rock band Queen from their 1975 album A
Night at the Opera. The song was written by Freddie Mercury about Mary Austin,
with whom he had a long term relationship in the early 1970s. After performing
the song in South America in 1981, the version from their live album Live
Killers reached number 1 in the singles chart in Argentina and Brazil, and
stayed in the charts in Argentina for an entire year.

Freddie Mercury
wrote it on the piano and guitar first, Brian May rearranged the song for
acoustic 12-string guitar to facilitate live performances. May contributed
occasional guitar phrases to the original recording and played the swooping
harp glissandos by pasting together multiple takes of single chords. The song
is an example of Mercury's familiarity with rubato phrasing, showcasing his
classical piano influences, notably by Chopin and Beethoven.

With its similar lyrical
theme, later single "These Are the Days of Our Lives" would hearken
back to "Love of My Life", twice using the line "I still love
you". At the end of "These Are the Days of Our Lives", Mercury
simply speaks those words, as he would often do in live versions of "Love
of My Life."

Love of my lifelyrics

Love of my life,

You hurt me,

You broken my
heart,

Now you leave me

Love of my life
can't you see,

Bring it back
bring it back,

Don't take it
away from me,

Because you don't
know what it means to me

Love of my life
don't leave me,

You've stolen my
love you now desert me,

Love of my life
can't you see,

Bring it back
bring it back,

Don't take it
away from me,

Because you don't
know what it means to me

You will remember
when this is blown over,

And everything's
all by the way,

When I grow
older,

I will be there
at your side,

To remind how I
still love you

I still love you

I still love you

Hurry back hurry
back,

Don't take it
away from me,

Because you don't
know what it means to me

Love of my life,

Love of my life

In his will,
Mercury left his London home to Austin, rather than his then partner Jim
Hutton, saying, "You would have been my wife and it would have been yours
anyway". Mercury was also the godfather of Mary's oldest son, Richard.

During the early
to mid '80s, he was romantically involved with Barbara Valentin, an Austrian
actress, who is featured in the video for "It's a Hard Life". By
1985, he began another long-term relationship with hairdresser Jim Hutton
(1949-2010). Hutton, who was tested HIV-positive in 1990, lived with Mercury
for the last six years of his life, nursed him during his illness, and was
present at his bedside when he died.